Northern Ireland Course Information Sheet

Important notes to all those attending the course:

ZANSHIN SHOTOKAN KARATE CLUB

3^RD NORTHERN IRELAND 6 DAY SUMMER COURSE

INFORMATION SHEET

Dear Students and Parents,

Please find attached your registration form for this year’s Northern Ireland 6 Day Summer Course, please complete this form, ticking the appropriate boxes and return with payment ASAP to either your instructor or post to:

Miss Yasmin Geddis

23 Somerset Court

Coleraine

BT51 3LQ

COURSE VENUE: JIM WATT SPORTS CENTRE, GARVAGH.

KINARD PARK, FORT ROAD

GARVAGH

BT51 5NQ

0282955 8686

                                                                                IMPORTANT NOTES

1.       Green Belts and above can train in both sessions for the same price, although emphasis will be placed upon White Belts to Yellow Belts.

2.       If you complete the 5 day Course you will receive a certificate at the end of the week presented by Sensei Frank Brennan

3.       Black Belt grading fee – Payment should be made to KUGB only! Please check www.kugb.org for the Dan grading prices. The grading will be examined by Sensei Sherry and Sensei Brennan

4.       Families will receive discount for multiple training sessions, please contact Yasmin for the costs: yasmingeddiskarate@gmail.com

5.       All those grading for 1^st Dan please allow time at the end of the grading for presentation of Samurai Swords, Certificates and photographs.

6.       Please can everyone make sure their KUGB Licence (Red Book) is up to date as this is needed

7.       Brown and Double White Belts, please note the mock grading scheduled with Sensei Jim Brennan on Thursday 31^st July 2014 at 4pm temporary and full 1^st Kyu’s are permitted to attempt the mock grading. Please bring something to eat and drink as the normal training session will commence at 6pm as per usual.

8.       The FREE Brown and Black Belt course is for Brown and Black belts only! Those who achieve their Brown Belts during the KYU grading on Friday night may also train in this session.

9.       Extra private sessions will be scheduled throughout the week with Sensei John James Bruce and Sensei Gary Harford. These sessions are for International ESKA Competitors only due to the lack of space. If you are chosen to participate in these sessions you will be contacted personally.

10.   This year we are hoping to provide some light refreshments for those students whom are training in both of the sessions.

11.   Please do not bring fizzy drinks to the training session, isotonic or water only, fizzy drinks do not help energy levels and ruin your teeth!

Good luck to all those who are training and grading throughout this week, it is exciting and busy for all instructors and students. I hope to see a good crowd at all sessions.

               If you have any questions please contact us on our Facebook page: ZANSHIN SHOTOKAN KATATE CLUB

Call Sensei Terry: 07931981962, Sensei Yasmin: 07563612088

Or email Yasmin: yasmingeddiskarate@gmail.com

Zanshin Northern Ireland Course 2014 - Form

- Please copy and paste this form into a WORD Document, edit it and then print it and send it back to me to the address shown.
Alternatively you can edit the document and  email it to me: yasmingeddiskarate@gmail.com

ZANSHIN SHOTOKAN KARATE CLUB

3^rd  NI 6 DAY SUMMER COURSE

REGISTRATION FORM

Please Tick the appropriate boxes with your chosen classes.

 ** Other session are free of charge. Please tick if you are attending them also.

Name                    ______________________________________________________________________

Address                               _______________________________________________________________________

Post Code           ___________________________    Tel.No.________________________________

Emergency Contact No. _________________________             Grade  _______________________

Date	Instructor	White Belt – Yellow Belt 6pm-7.30pm Please tick*£15 each course	Green Belt and above 7.30pm-9pm Please tick* £15 each course	**Other Sessions
Monday 28th July	Sensei Terry Geddis, 5th Dan
Tuesday 29th July	Sensei  John James Bruce, 5th Dan
Wednesday 30th July	Sensei Garry Harford, 7th Dan
Thursday 31st  July **4pm	Sensei Jim Brennan , 7th Dan Mock Grading. All 1st Kyu’s
Friday 1st  August	Sensei Frank Brennan, 7th Dan
	Training & Grading £27
Saturday 2nd August **10am-  11am	Instructors Course Sensei Brennan  - Black Belts only
11am-1pm	FREE Brown & Black Belt Course Sensei’s  Sherry & Sensei Brennan
2pm	Black Belt Grading
28/7-1/8	ALL Courses £60
28/7-1/8	Course & Grading £80 (Only Kyu Grades)
	TOTAL			£

Please return your form with payment ASAP to secure your place and make cheques payable to

ZANSHIN SHOTOKAN KARATE CLUB

Dylan McCloskey 2nd Dan

Hello All,

I thought a post was relevant on the recent success of Dylan McCloskey. AKA. Dilly Willy Fo Shizzle. Ma Baby. The wee man. Badger. The list goes on of the names that he has been given since he joined the club when he was 5.

- A very young 5th Kyu Dylan McCloskey

I have had the pleasure of both teaching Dylan and regularly training along side him on the upcoming to big competitions in which he travels across with the team to either support us and watch the competition or to compete in himself.

Dylan obtained his 1st Dan at the tender age of 9 in Cowdenbeth, Scotland, it was here that I realised the importance of his training to himself and his family. He provides me with such pride on occasions such as this, that it made me hard to contain my excitement and nerves on the day of his 1st Dan as there is nothing more rewarding than one of your students achieving something so highly sought after.

Instead of being deterred after this success, Dylan continued to train to such a high standard that he was chosen as captain of the Northern Ireland Junior Squad for the last 2 years consecutively. Having competed at the 43rd KUGB National Championships and scoring a total of 3 Ippons one after another in 3 different fights (the same number of Ippons that I scored that day also) he narrowly missed out on the finals at this competition, only to come back stronger at the Liverpool Youth Championships in June 2013 to bring home a 3rd Place. Dylan is currently placed in the 10-11 years category 3rd Kyu and Above which means during these competitions he was the youngest person in his category and judging by my reaction coaching him at the sidelines he was competing brilliantly on the day.

- A picture labelled "Dylan doing nothing" during a Sensei Brennan course at Brother Club Fudoshin

In November 2013 Dylan's continuous success was noticed at the Coleraine Sports Awards where he was awarded Junior Sports Man of the Year and his name is now forever carved in the Coleraine Leisure Centre Sports Award board, being one of the youngest winner of the award ever.

Later on that month Dylan started to prepare for his 2nd Dan grading which would take place one week after his 11th Birthday in March 2014. Whilst training 4-5 times a week with Sensei Terry, Sensei Andrew and myself Dylan was drowned in competition also, competing in the first ever Karate Northern Ireland Championships in which he won Kata, Kumite and Team Kata showing that he is indeed the best in Northern Ireland at his age in what he does.
He then went on to win the ZSNI National Championships and Kata Competitor of the Year on this date.

Dylan's true dedication came to show during the final weeks in preparation for his 2nd Dan grading when he agreed to give up his beloved PS3 and go to bed early and train efficiently until after he had graded.

He was sad to note that I would not be present on the day of his grading as I would only be a nervous wreck anyway and basically no use, so Sensei Terry travelled over with Laura Diamond and John Mullan who were attempting their 1st Dan Black Belts.

- Dylan 12.04.2014 Northern Ireland Mini Grandslam Double Champion

I was covering Sensei Terry's class on the Saturday of Dylan's grading, and all of my students could see the expression on my face and my body language was that of pure fear. I would rather take my 3rd Dan grading 10 times in the one day than to have Dylan take his 2nd Dan.

I was ecstatic, crying ecstatic at 6pm that night when I got the phone call from him screaming that he did pass his 2nd Dan and was now the youngest in Ireland to do so. It was not the title that mattered to him, Dylan is not one to do things for himself, on the upcoming to his grading he was more worried about disappointing myself and Andrew than achieving this for himself, but he did it regardless and has now came to realise that it was all for him at the end of the day.

With such high expectations for this years KUGB National Championships and Liverpool Youth Championships Dylan is now concentrating fully on competing until he is eligable to grade for his 3rd Dan in 2024.

I would like to make a special mention to Dylan's family, Wully, Sonia, Reece and his blood sisters Lauren and Tasha for their continuous support through the years, attending every event and supporting him in every way possible. His success would not be achievable if you were not a big part of the journey.


My student, my friend, my brother, Dylan, this blogpost is for you to express my pride and hope for the biggest future in Northern Ireland Karate possible.

 

- Myself and Dylan

Yasmin :)
3rd Dan

Holly Sterling Course 22.03.2014

Hello All,

From deadlines to rehearsals, I have been extremely busy! The university year is nearly over!
Apart from my final exam being held on sidekick Louise's birthday life is good in the eyes of Yaz.

Firstly, Thank you to all those who trained under Sensei Holly Sterling 4th Dan KUGB on Saturday 22nd March. It was a great turn out in Coleraine West Community Centre and everyone was very impressed with the teachings of Sensei Holly, AGAIN! - The importance of our time spent with Sensei Holly is, as Shotokan Karate teachings is predominately male territory, we like our students to experience different teachings and to show that females are just as informative as males in Karate, just less common to be at a standard of Holly who is an all rounder

All rounder - Shows excellence in all three of main training areas of Shotokan Karate - Kata, Kumite and Kihon (basics, not the kata)

This is Holly's third visit to Northern Ireland and her reports have always been very positive about the students in the club! - Even Zachary and Andrew requested special permission to secretly train in the Female Class - a request that I quickly denied them access too #girlpower

Holly is a long standing KUGB Team member in both Kata and Kumite, two time KUGB Grand Champion she is a regular on the ESKA and WSKA podiums in both of her consecutive events.

Having been in the final for both kata and kumite in WSKA in Liverpool and in ESKA in Portugal in 2013, it is a great opportunity for our students to have her as a guest in Northern Ireland.

Do not be fooled by her petiteness, having fought her in Serbia in 2012 Holly can pack a solid punch and can move very swifty on the matt. My favourite moment of Holly's was during the KUGB National Championships in Birmingham in May of last year where she ipponed her opponent with a swift jodan block and front leg jodan mwashi-geri combination blocking her fast opponents renowned jodan gazami-zsuki, the slap of the technique was heard by everyone in the stadium and caused a sweep of silence whlist she was awarded the ippon and fight. An uproar of applause then broke for KUGB England's golden girl.

Holly was then asked to participate in our 10th Anniversary fight night (which I received no complaints from- go me) In which she performed two katas - Empi and Ni-Ju-Sho-ho.

The night went very smoothly with very happy students and parents showing their appreciations for the teachings within the club.

Well done to all those students who participated and we cannot wait to reveal our plans for the demonstration next year.

And a special thanks to our guest of honor and my dear friend Holly Sterling, your club is lucky to have you 24/7 to enjoy your teachings on a regular basis, you will always be a friend to Zanshin and we cannot wait to have you over again.  


#BRILLIANT

Ps. Yes she is better than me.


Yasmin :)
3rd Dan

Club Note 03.03.2014

ZANSHIN SHOTOKAN KARATE CLUB

Information for all Students!

Riverside Theatre Demonstration – Rehearsals will take place this Saturday in Coleraine West Community Centre from 12pm-3pm. Please ensure that you attend this scheduled rehearsal and if you have not confirmed attendance via slip handed out, please bring it on this date!

The schedule for Saturday 22^nd March – Riverside Theatre Fight Night!

Holly Sterling Training Course @ 12pm-1.30pm – All Grades, Male and Female

Holly Sterling Training Course @ 1.30pm-3.00pm – All Grades, Females only

5.30pm – Please can all students who are participating arrive at the theatre and sign in

• ·         Can all students please bring a packed lunch
• ·         Clean Gi (Karate Suit) is compulsory
• ·         Changing rooms are provided with a chaperone in each room

6.00pm - Rehearsals will commence

8.00pm – Live Fight Night Demonstration Commences

• ·         All young students will be finished at approx. 9.30pm – they will then be allowed to sit with their parents in the audience for the rest of the show
• ·         NO PHOTOS OR FILMING OF THIS PERFORMACE IS ALLOWED – Under any circumstances, this was brought to our attention last year from the lighting and sound crew at the back of the theatre.
• ·        Thank you party date will be announced at a later date

Parents, members of the community and other students, please support your club by coming to watch the fight night; it will be a great night out for all the family! Call: 02870123123

Saturday 29^th March 2014 ASDA Bagpack – has been cancelled! Another date will be confirmed soon.

Memberships are well overdue now for students and instructors, we will be sending out letters soon to those who have not paid membership – if you have not, you are not a member of the club.

PLEASE CAN EVERYONE MAKE SURE THAT THEIR KUGB LICENCE (RED BOOK) IS UPTODATE AS MANY RUN OUT AT THE END OF FEBURARY!!

 

Yasmin :)

3rd Dan

Chris Cray Training Session 22.02.2014

Training week in and week out can get somewhat, repetitive, you sometimes lose focus and need a shakeup, something different to come along to test your abilities as a Karateka, so you can ask yourself, “How good am I really?”

Technical sessions do this, when you realise your foot moves before you punch, you CAN fight south port but your knee lift in your kicks isn’t high enough. Sometimes as a 3^rd Dan, we are not looked at in classes as we are assumed to be getting it right, but imperfections creep up on you and they stay until recognised. (Although Sensei Terry teaches us privately, we get away with nothing)

It’s not about sweating and half dying during a session, it’s about discovering things you never noticed before – this is where you gain true knowledge.

 

Everyone remembers special highlights in their lives, moments that impress or influence you in the best way possible, like, your first karate session or you’re first grading.

I remember all of these moments, but one moment I will never forget is my first attendance at the European Shotokan Karate Championships.

Being 15, I was unable to compete in the Championships, but Sensei Terry brought me over to watch the talent which was displayed, in Porto, Portugal in 2007.

It was here that I watched Christopher Cray’s every fight on his way to European Victory.

Displaying countering reactions that can only be described as perfect, highlighting the precision that he must undertake to read his opponent like a book to be able to confidently push himself forward to a moment of impact that could cause himself pain if he did not believe that he was fast enough, but the audience could see that no one was beating Chris’s Gaku-zsuki that day.

Counter Fighters – Karateka whom rely on reading their opponent to such a degree, that they can see exactly when they are going to attack and what they are going to attack with. They do this by carefully watching body movements to see the slightest budge of a hand, tilt of a head or blink of an eye. And that’s it, the counter attacker is on you like a rash.

Being a counter attacker opens you up to many disadvantages when fighting in a competition, you need to be fast enough to hit first or you are caught.

 

                               Chris Cray had this technique down to a fine art.

 

I’m the other end of the scale, I attack my opponent, in hope that I do not telegraph so they can read my movements – doesn’t always work but I try.

You thrive to learn everyone’s name when you are dedicated to something, you want to know the winners, to watch them compete and learn from them I did not know anyone’s name when I first joint the KUGB.

The first name I became accustomed too and learnt was Chris Cray, European Champion 2007.

After his win at the European Championship, I decided to change my approach to Kumite, focus less on being hard and focus more on being fast, learn more tricks to use again your opposition to confuse and offset them just like Chris did, that May I won the National Championships for the first time. These are techniques that you can only learn from watching what it takes to be a winner.

7 years on it is a privilege to have trained alongside Chris in many courses and training sessions throughout the years and now he is a dedicated instructor and coach teaching at Malvern Karate Club, I now consider him a friend. – I am watching, patiently, that young female student of his by the way who I believe has won the KUGB Nationals several times now. Watching and Waiting.

 

Chris has visited Northern Ireland several times now, teaching sessions at brother club Fudoshin a couple of times a year and myself and my brother wouldn’t miss it.

Having personally watched Chris at what he is good at, Kumite, he is right up my street for developing little tricks and making big improvements on your fighting style.

He doesn’t try to change the way you compete, he tries to enhance it. Which I believe is important.

He believes strongly in the application of the technique and not just how good it looks when being performed.

True Shotokan Karate is Chris’s era. Where careful contact is allowed and emphasis on the importance of a blank face and little movement, but perfect execution of technique is highlighted.

 

I would like to thank Chris for another great session and I am looking forward to the next one.

 

Quote of the session

 

“If we have time for Kata we will do it, if we don’t, well….we don’t”

 

Riverside Theatre 10th Anniversary Demonstration

Hey :)

 
For all those who do not know, I have been training in Shotokan Karate under the guiding eye of my Daddy Sensei Terry Geddis 5th Dan for 17 years (I always know because it is the age of my younger, but not little, brother Zachary) - hes the one who creeps around training halls and only exerts the necessary energy to throw a punch punch kick in most sessions.

 In my opinion Zachary is the hardest puncher and kicker in the club, men included. (S.Terry not included) Wouldn't know how hard Andrew punches because they are always about three inches short of hitting me (good control apparently) but I think he is feared. Since I have thousands of views and followers on my blog (Thank you) and he claims to not be one of them he will never see me slagging off his incorrect distance when punching.
 
The Riverside Theatre (where sickkick Louise inhabits from Tuesday-Saturday) is situated in my hometown of Coleraine, inside the University of Ulster grounds it holds appox 350 people and has theatrical shows on most weeks.
Our club has performed on the stage once a year for the last ten years. 
Starting off - everyone who trains in the art of Shotokan Karate will cringe at this next part - in the first few years of production, we decided to do every single grading sylabus from White Belt to First Dan on the stage.
 
I was sad for the people watching it. During these performaces I was a 1st Dan but had to take part in 7th kyu sylabus right up to black belt anyway. I GET AWAY WITH NOTHING.
 
It was only since 6 years ago that I believed that the true character of our club started to shine through, performaces are all about individuality and excitement. This is what Sensei Terry wished to put across to the audience. So the show became more theroatical, with street scenarios being made, superheros being formed and comedy being inserted into the show.
Of course traditional Karate was demonstrated with Individual Kata being shown and a team fight at the end of the night, which seemed to excite audiences.
 
I will take a bow here and say that Ying and Yang production was the best of the shows because I am sooooo funny its unbelievble. (biased)
Unfortunately, the theatrical side has now been put in the past (I demand a petition!!) and FIGHT NIGHT has been created, as I now commentate (why Sensei Terry did not think of this sooner, I will never know) I am so funny. I tend to get complaints but at least I make myself laugh?  
 
This year it is FIGHT NIGHT REVOLVED. The lovely Holly Sterling from The England Team is joining us (blog about her to follow later in the year) to perform some Kata on stage and to my knowledge she is judging as well. And our new national Junior Team Kata will be performing infront of an audience for the first time!!

Dilly Willy, Holister and Chicken Kev  

 
 
Book ya tickets 02870123123
 
 
Yasmin Geddis
3rd Dan :)